MONTREAL—An alleged bribery scheme related to a $2.9-billion development project in Bangladesh has resulted in charges against yet another former executive of one of Canada’s largest companies.

The RCMP on Wednesday said it had charged Kevin Wallace, a former senior vice-president of Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin, months after his name first surfaced in the alleged plan.

Two other people were also charged this week, including a former Bangladeshi government minister.

In the spring of 2012, police first laid charges against two other employees of the engineering company over what is alleged to have been a corrupt bidding process in which Bangladeshi authorities are accused of soliciting bribes.

According to the Bangladeshi media, the alleged payment scheme is believed to have been recorded on a notepad belonging to one of the two former SNC-Lavalin employees who were arrested in 2012. Ramesh Shah and Mohammad Ismail, both former Oakville-based employees of the firm, are now awaiting trial, but that notepad is believed to be a central piece of evidence in the Crown’s case against them, the Dakha Daily Star has reported.

The newspaper report also said Wallace was the firm’s main contact with the Bangladeshi Bridge Authority and a local lobbyist advised Wallace that “we have to reestablish their confidence a.s.a.p.”

The Bangladeshi investigators’ preliminary report, cited in a January 2013 World Bank letter obtained by the Dakha Daily Star, said the lobbyist also insisted that Wallace visited the country to finalize the bridge-construction deal. “The top guy wants to meet/see a sada (white-skinned) Canadian,” the lobbyist is quoted as writing in the letter.

The Dakha Daily Star’s report couldn’t be verified by the Toronto Star and none of the allegations has been proven in court.

Wallace hasn’t worked for SNC-Lavalin since December 2012 and has filed a wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the company. Scott Fenton, Wallace’s lawyer, questioned the timing of the charges and said they raise “serious concerns” about the strength of the case.

“The investigation (into SNC-Lavalin’s role in the Padma Bridge contract) concluded 18 months ago and he was not charged,” he said in a written statement. “A preliminary inquiry has already concluded for those persons who were charged. No new evidence has come forward. Mr. Wallace maintains that he is innocent and he will fight to clear his good name.

The RCMP have also charged Abul Hasan Chowdhury and Zulfiquar Ali Bhuiyan under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act for using their positions to influence the awarding of the contract. Chowdhury is Bangladesh’s former state minister for foreign affairs and was fingered in preliminary investigation by the country’s anti-corruption body as a “facilitator” and beneficiary of the corruption conspiracy.

RCMP Cpl. Lucy Shorey, a spokesperson, said Chowdhury is believed to be in Bangladesh and has not been arrested. Contacted Wednesday in Dakha by CBC, Chowdhury said he met in May 2011 with Wallace and Ramesh Shah but denied taking involvement in a bribery scheme. “Categorically I have nothing to do with it,” he told the broadcaster. “Absolutely banal and bogus. In my presence nothing of the sort was discussed.”

Cpl. Shorey would not provide any other information about Bhuiyan, who is identified only as a Canadian citizen.

The corruption allegations surrounding the Bangladesh bridge project are not the only troubles that SNC-Lavalin have faced in recent years, but they have been the most damaging. The World Bank reached a settlement in April that will see the firm and more than 100 of its subsidiaries around the world barred from bidding on World Bank development projects for a decade.

“We are eager to reach a resolution regarding all issues related to this subject and will continue to support the authorities in their investigations,” said SNC-Lavalin spokesperson Lilly Nguyen.

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